


Fast Enough to Beat the Devil

by thejollymilano



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Angst, Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, The Losers Club, bill accepts that georgie is dead, bill grieves over georgie, follows the events of the first movie, the losers love georgie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 22:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20956154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejollymilano/pseuds/thejollymilano
Summary: Set during the night that Georgie "disappears." Bill is overcome by guilt, and the Losers comfort him as he breaks down both in October of 1988 and August of 1989.





	Fast Enough to Beat the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> I SUCK at summaries, but basically this is a Bill Denbrough (2017 adaption) based fic following his journey from the night that they find out Georgie disappeared, to when the Losers comfort Bill at the end of the movie when he accepts that his little brother is dead. There are a couple fluffy flashbacks of Bill and Georgie, and Georgie with the Losers! 
> 
> Bill isn't my favorite Loser, but his story arc with Georgie really gets to me, and I wrote more than half of this fic at 1am ajsfdfjsl.
> 
> Enjoy!! ~

**OCTOBER 1988**

Bill Denbrough remembers this day vividly, as if it were yesterday. Even after twenty seven years, when all other memories of Derry had faded away, he remembers the day his little brother went missing. How could he not? 

He remembers hearing the phone ring that afternoon, the sound echoing through the house, standing out from his mother’s soft piano playing and the sound of the rain gently hitting his window. His father’s voice spoke distantly on the phone, but when Bill faintly heard him mutter “_What do you mean ‘Have we seen Georgie?’” _the sound of the piano cut off abruptly. He quietly tiptoed down the stairs, rounding the corner just as the voice of their neighbor, an elderly woman, hysterically shouted loud enough for Bill to hear that she saw Georgie looking in a sewer one moment, and when she came back all that was left was a puddle of blood. Bill gasped, his mother slapped a hand over her mouth in shock as his father paled. He hung up the phone after she told them she was going to call the police, and then his parents rounded on him.

“Bill,” His father knelt in front of him, placing both hands on Bill’s shoulders. “Do you know where Georgie is?”

“He w-w-went outside to play,” At this, his father dropped his head and his mother stood deathly still. “I was going to go with him, but I-I didn’t want to ... I didn’t think anything would h-ha-happen, we’ve gone outside in the rain before!” His parents were barely hearing him out anymore, both of them had moved to the front entrance, pulling on their rain boots and shrugging on their jackets.

“M-Mom, dad,” Bill followed them, his eyes tearing up and his throat closing up. He felt sick to his stomach with dread. “I’m so sorry. I-I-I just made him a b-b-b-boat. I didn’t know, I-” 

He was cut off when his mother suddenly slung the front door open, stomping into the storm. His father turned back around to face Bill.

“Stay here, Bill. Do _ not _leave this house, we’ll be back soon. We’ll talk then.”

Then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

And Bill was alone with only his guilty conscious for company.

The sudden thought of being alone scared him, and he rushed to the phone, quickly dialing the number of someone he needed most in that moment - a friend. 

Richie Tozier picked up after four rings.

_ “Hello? _”

“Richie, it’s Bill. I ne-ne-need you to come over to my place right away,” His voice cracked on a few syllables, as his mouth suddenly tasted like mud. 

“_Uh, yeah sure. What the fuck, Bill? Is everything okay?” _

“G-G-Georgie is missing, a-and I think it might be my fault. I don’t k-know, just can you call the others and come over please?” Bill sniffled.

“_Shit, man. I’ll be there soon.” _

After he hung up, Bill went into the living room and fell onto the couch. He placed his head in his heads and anxiously tapped his foot, his tearful eyes threatening to spill. But he couldn’t break down yet, they didn’t even know if Georgie _ was _ missing. For all they knew, Georgie could have just scraped his knee and fell into the sewer - for all he knew, his little brother could be okay. _ God, he hoped so. _Bill didn’t know if he could live with himself if something ever happened to Georgie. 

.

.

.

_ It was just this past summer that their dad had taught Georgie how to ride a bike with training wheels. Bill was there, riding along beside him and cheering proudly with their parents when his little brother could finally take off without the help of their father. Eventually, after a few weeks of hard practice, Georgie was brave enough to tell them that he didn’t need the training wheels anymore. To celebrate, Bill let Georgie ride his Silver Bullet. _

_ Bill helped Georgie mount Silver and adjusted the seat to make it easier for him, before grabbing their dad’s bike out of the garage. _

_ “Are sure I’ll be able to keep up, Bill? I’m not fast like you yet,” Georgie said anxiously as Bill held onto Silver’s handle bars while they stood in the driveway. _

_ “Don’t worry, Georgie,” Bill playfully bumped Georgie’s shoulder. “Sh-Sh-She’s fast enough to beat the devil.” _

_ He pushed Georgie down the driveway before following him on the other bike, and together they rode their bikes around their neighborhood. They laughed as they swerved and tried standing up while riding - only for Georgie to crash and fall onto the grassy part of the sidewalk. _

_ “T-T-Told you she’s fast,” Bill teased after helping him up and making sure he wasn’t hurt badly. _

_ From then on, for the rest of the summer, Bill would include Georgie when he’d go out to ride around town with Stan, Richie and Eddie. None of them complained (Richie did at first, but after a quick “Beep beep Richie,” and seeing that Georgie could keep up, he stopped) and they showed Georgie some of their favorite places to ride their bikes. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

_ The Losers had always loved Georgie. Not only because he was Bill’s friendly little brother, but because he was so full of energy and loved playing games. Whenever Bill’s friends would sleep over at his place, they would always try to make sure Georgie felt included by playing a couple rounds of tag (which Bill, Stan and Eddie always pretended to run slow so Georgie could tag them, while Richie rolled around the grass to avoid being tagged “It,”) and hide and go seek (they never went easy on Georgie in the game - he was too good at finding to just let him win). _

_ One night, while the Losers had set up their fort in the living room and got ready to watch a scary movie that they had all but begged their parents to let them watch (rather that Bill had to beg. Richie’s parents didn’t mind, and Stan and Eddie just casually lied), Georgie had crawled into their fort with them asking Bill to read him a bedtime story. _

_ They had all climbed up the stairs together and tucked little Georgie back into his bed, sitting on it with him while Richie told a story using different voices for each character. They all laughed together, and bid Georgie good night, leaving on his night light before Bill kissed his forehead and closed the door. _

_ There was always a soft spot in the Losers’ hearts for little Georgie Denbrough. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

A few hours later, Bill sat on the couch with his friends sitting on either side of him. They watched his parents as they talked to police men, the Losers offering silent support by just being there. Bill stayed still as his eyes followed his parents’ every move, looking for a sign - _ any _sign that his little brother was going to be okay. 

His hopes came crashing down and his heart fell into his stomach when he saw his mother break down, his father comforting her. He could feel his friends eyes on him as he stood up, flexing his fingers anxiously. He swatted away their outreached hands that were trying to drag him into a hug, and ran upstairs. Bill could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs behind him, but he paid them no mind - _ he just needed to get away from down there. _

He entered Georgie’s room, where the lamp was still on and his bed was nicely made from that morning. Georgie had left some toys on the floor and he had his stupid stuffed animals on his bed, and suddenly it all became too much, and the dam he was holding back broke down.

A broken sob escaped his lips as he picks up the lego turtle that they built together on Georgie’s bedside table, clutching it to his chest as he weakly fell to his knees, his legs no longer able to support him. He felt several pairs of arms wrap around him, embracing him. He lifted his head and looked at his friends hopelessly. 

“It’s m-m-m-my fault,” Bill inhaled sharply. “I’ve go-got-gotta find him, you guys!”

“Bill…” Stanley tried.

“I’ve gotta find h-him,” His lower lip trembled. His friends, not knowing what they could say that would make any of this easier for their friend, hugged him again as Bill let himself succumb to his grief. 

.

.

.

**AUGUST 1989**

“He thrust his fists against the p-p-p-posts, and still insists he sees the g-g-ghosts. He thrust his fists against the p-p-posts,” It mocked Bill as he hung onto the well by his claws. Bill stepped forward, raising the bar that Stanley handed to him, ready to let it fall when suddenly It fell further down the well so that only his eyes were peeking over at the Losers while his skull slowly cracked. “Fear,” It uttered before plummeting into the darkness below. The Losers stood around the well in silence for a moment, relief slowly crawling its way into their hearts.

“I know what I’m doing for my summer experience essay,” Richie remarked.

Bill exhaled in relief and turned around to hug Beverly, burying his nose into her shoulder.

“Guys… Guys, look!” Eddie gasped. “The kids are floating down.”

The Losers all looked up and watched with heavy hearts as the missing children slowly floated down. While the others were all entranced by the devastating sight, Bill stepped forward when a flash of yellow caught his eye. He slowly walked towards the pile of toys and objects collected from the missing kids, his eyes set on the dirty yellow rain jacket that stuck out from the rest. He could feel Richie’s eyes on him as he dropped the metal bar and pulled the jacket off the wheel of a wagon, his hands shaking as he read the name written on the tag. _ Georgie Denbrough. _

Bill’s lower lip trembled as he inhaled sharply, the remains of his broken heart shattering.

He gripped Georgie’s jacket tightly, holding it close to his chest as he sobbed. He sobbed for the loss of his little brother, someone he was supposed to protect and look out for. He sobbed, wishing that he hadn’t pretended to be sick that morning, that he had gone outside to play for even just ten minutes. 

Bill felt a pair of arms embrace him, and looked over from the corner of his eye to see Richie hugging him tightly. Not a moment later, more arms wrapped around him and Bill found himself bundled in his friends’ comfort. He started crying even harder, allowing himself to grieve. The silent support that his best friends offered him reminded him that it there was nothing he could have done. That even if Bill was with Georgie, chances were that it wouldn’t have changed anything, no matter what his guilty conscious kept trying to convince him. 

Embraced in the love and support of his friends, Bill Denbrough accepted that he was never going to find Georgie, that he had been dead for the last ten months. 

_ His beloved little brother was dead. And there was nothing he could have done. _

He wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be able to look his parents in the eye again. He knew things were never going to be the same, but with his friends holding him close and murmuring soft comforts, Bill knew that he wouldn’t be facing any of it alone. Not anymore.

He no longer had his little brother, but he had the Losers just as they had him.

After all, Losers have to stick together.

** _THE END. _ **


End file.
